Hidden In Plain View - Resolution

Everyone has heard the old saying of “The good die young.” In the case of Hidden In Plain View, that phrase fits rather nicely. After showing much promise with their Drive Thru Records debut EP in 2003 and debut full length, Life In Dreaming, in 2004, the band decided to call it quits in early 2007, in the midst of recording their second, and now final, album.

This album, aptly named Resolution, was produced by Brian McTernan (Circa Survive, Thrice, The Movielife), and flows with a fast pace full of anxiety. This is evident in the album opener, “Bendy,” which may be one of the best songs the band has ever written. It’s a fast, emotionally-charged album that uses the duel vocals of Rob Freeman and Joe Reo. “I Don’t Want To Hear” is extremely peppy and features nice drumming from Spencer Peterson.

The guitar work between Freeman and Mike Saffert is on point, as it paces “Heavy Breathing.” “Walk Harbor City” is one of the harder songs on the album, as it carries a different tone not heard on the previous songs so far.

Resolution is an unrelenting album for the most part; when you think you can stop and catch your breath, they hit you in the throat almost immediately, as heard on “Circles.” Although “Our Time” and “Off My Shoulders” are two of the slower tracks but both feature more of a progressive side and weaving guitars.

Preluded by the Circa Survive-like “Interlude,” “Something Needs To Change” sounds like a train roaring off the tracks. It’s a swift kick in the ass following the previous two tracks and one of my favorites on the album. The weakest track on the album comes in the form of “The Lake House,” which tries to follow the formula first seen on “Twenty Below,” but falls short of the impact that song had.

The album closes with “Hear Me Out,” a song that features HIPV’s complete bag of tricks: sharp guitar riffs, harmonious duel vocals, breakneck drumming, and group vocals. It’s probably the best way HIPV could’ve closed out their final album, as the guitars barely linger on, leaving you to take in the final work of Hidden In Plain View.

The most tragic thing is not that this is Hidden In Plain View’s final album, rather it’s the fact that the band broke up before hitting their full potential. There are instances on Resolution that gives us glimpses of what the band was capable of doing (“Bendy,” “Something Needs To Change”), but there are a few pitfalls scattered throughout, most notably “The Lake House.” Another nuisance was the fact that the impact of the duel vocals between Reo and Freeman is lacking compared to what they did on Life In Dreaming. This could be due to the fact that Freeman took the majority of the vocals. The lyrics are also particularly weaker than what was penned on Dreaming. But musically, Resolution surpasses Dreaming. In the end, it sucks that Hidden In Plain View are calling it quits, but thankfully they didn’t half-ass their final album, and Resolution will be an album that HIPV fans will undoubtedly love.

I already enjoy this album a lot. I have to disagree with you about The Lake House though. It's a great song and full of emotion in my opinion. Especially if you go watch that video HIPV put up awhile ago with rob just playing the song acoustic.

i only heard bendy and the lake house and both are great, can't wait to hear the rest tomorrow - i was excited about the lake house since i heard rob playing it acoustic on the video posted on YT, i was glad that it made on the album, it's pretty great,.. i'm assuming that's not a bad thing that the rest is supposed to be even better